Bedtime Hacks

[Newmum995]

Does anyone have any genuis hacks for getting more than one child to bed at the same time?
I have a 2 year old and 10 month old and it's not getting easier, the 10 month old won't sit still for books yet, and the 2 year old refuses to give me 10 minutes to get the baby to bed first.
My husband works away 4 nights a week so it's solo parenting making it harder!

Would love to know, we have the same problem

Do either of them go to sleep independently ie you can leave them alone in bed to fall asleep? Do they sleep in separate rooms? Useful to know your set up so we can advise you better 😊

Can the 10mos entertain him/herself with toys whilst you read to DC1?
Or can the 2yr old have some little tasks to do whilst you feed (e.g. tidy up toys as you direct; change in to pj's?)
Or can the 2yr old have a DVD/telly (nightgarden or something similarly tame) for 15mins whilst you settle 10mos? (years ago, when my DC were tiny, MN recommended 'gallons of telly' for how to cope with multiple minis)

What about one of those Tomy box things to entertain the 2 yo while you settle the baby?

Bath together. Out and into PJs. All get into the toddler’s bed together (mine had a double). Feed youngest whilst reading to the eldest, get the toddler to turn the pages if you feel like you don’t have enough hands. Then you get out, put baby down in their cot, kiss goodnight and done. Or at least that’s what I did. It does rely on them both being low maintenance sleep wise though. Failing all else audio book or maybe even a bit of quiet TV for the eldest whilst you do the youngest.

I'd put them both in the bath together.

Get little one out first and into PJ's while the older one plays.

Everyone into whatever bedroom best contains the baby and get them older one ready while little one crawls around/plays.

Stories for the eldest while the little one continues to play or has a milk feed.

Tuck the eldest in and say goodnight.

Put the little one to bed.

If necessary go back to settle the eldest.

In the daytime I would work on getting the older one to entertain herself for short periods. Once this is doable on the day you can transfer the same skills to bedtime. It's often a good idea to have something (a toy or activity) reserved for these times. For example, some special stickers that only come out when you need ten minutes with the baby.

Also agree with pp if ten minutes of Bluey is the answer then use it.

i have a 5 year old and nearly 1 year old so maybe slightly easier as my oldest is quite independent. I alternate baths so they each have one every other day, and I get the other ready for bed any the same time. They do teeth and story together (though they both play rather than listen I think!) and while I put baby to bed my oldest plays in her room. If your 2 year olds room is close enough, could they play in there with the door open while you put baby to bed? Or tv for a bit in a room that’s safe for them to be unsupervised in? We went through a period of screaming with my oldest but now she knows I will come and have some time with her later she’s ok.

I really sympathise, it’s hard when you’re doing bedtime by yourself with multiple children!

I have a 10 month old and just turned 3 year old. I tend to rely on telly to do this. Give older child some telly on quiet while I put baby down. Luckily baby is much easier to put down now and only take 10 - 15 mins. Depends on how much telly your 2 year old can watch. They tend to get a lot more focus for it as they get closer to 3.

I had a 16 month age gap with mine, from about 7 months onwards we did bath together, pyjamas on, toddler in to bed, baby on my lap with a bottle/breastfeed while read to the toddler. Baby would fall asleep on me and I would sit until toddler fell asleep. Transfer the baby to the cot and done.

At around 15 months we started putting the baby in her cot with a bottle while I read to both and they fell asleep.

Now they are 2 and 3 and they have milk, bath, books, bed.

It gets easier. Mine are 2 and 4 and I did it
together tonight. They share a room and DH is away for work.

Mine are 4, 2 and 6 months. Husband works late on around three nights per week. Complicating factor is that the eldest has never been able to fall asleep on his own.

I have decided to just lean into it at the moment. Bathe them all at the same time (big ones in the main bath and little one in a baby bath beside them), get myself ready for bed whilst they splash about. Out, dressed, then all in the big bed for snuggles and books and feeding the baby. Lights out - biggest asleep instantly, then baby, then middle. I either stay there enjoying the peace or sneak out and put the baby down and have an hour or two to myself.

Tonie box defo. Our boy got interested in his around age 2... it was given as a baby gift but never used til age 2, it gave him the feeling of company having someone talking in his room so he didn't mind being left in the room alone. He gets to choose which character and put it on, giving the control that toddlers love! Our son has fallen asleep to his for years. Iggle giggle, fireman sam and spot have been popular in our house in younger years.

Turn down all lights and pretend you're going to sleep yourself. Tell them you are going to bed and talk them through the steps. First I'm going to put on my Pjs, now I'll brush my teeth. Tell them how comfy it is to be all tucked up and then read a story. And then pretend go to sleep yourself. Hopefully they will copy you. Baby ducks usually follow mama duck!

Kids meditation stories are helpful too

Mine were 2 years apart and the only way I coped was to eat dinner ridiculously early same time as them. Bath them together, then do last feed and stories together in my king size bed and co-sleep. Mine were very clingy and I just didn't have the energy. So I got great sleep as they knew I was there, and could face the early mornings. I had no life though for about 2 years.

We just all snuggled down in one big bed. Baby fell asleep and was transferred to the cot. Older one fell asleep and I exited slowly to whatever bed was free.

We're moving soon and I'm planning to put double beds in both kids' rooms.

Perhaps slow and soft music. The natural voice can do this.

Thanks for all the replies!
My 2yo falls asleep with me in the room, I'm trying to get out of cuddling to sleep to make life a bit easier but might have to try TV time while baby goes down. They are so nosey to where we are so i usually get 5 minutes until they run to find us 🙈